#marineford ruined my life

[alevens]

something something about how Sabo at some point ends up being the oldest between them three, something something about how Luffy will be older than Ace, something something about how Ace will forever be the oldest brother to two little brothers that'll be older than he ever was

[jeiyuuen]

So Luffy and Law reunion after two years, some totally biased thoughts...

Luffy really just recognized Law right away like that, huh? After two years of not meeting at all, and barely having interacted prior to Marineford. What was the first thing he recognized that he was sure that's the guy who saved him then? (Is there something you would like to share with the class, Luffy?)

It's so funny because nothing could've prepared Law for Luffy's sheer joy when they met again. He was so genuinely happy to find Law and it's ruining Law's emo vibes.

Like damn, he built up a reputation!

Pretty much everyone else up to that point has called him cruel, ruthless and all that. Back to Marineford and Sabaody, people talked about bad rumors about him. Even when he saved Luffy, they doubted his intentions. They were so sure there must be a catch to Law's help. (There was no catch.) It's just fun to think about because here Luffy is treating him as something good that happened in his life. Poor Law couldn't handle that much positive attention.

And uhm no, trying to deflect saving someone's life from death as "nothing" or something like that wouldn't really work. Especially when Law really didn't need to risk it all like that to get Luffy out of Marineford. They barely had a connection and even a potential rivalry is hardly worth the risk. Calling it a "whim" is the most Law can call it before he starts questioning his life again. But whatever the reason is, the fact still stands that he helped Luffy... And isn't that what matters, anyways? To Luffy, at least.

Law: "We are both pirates." (we're enemies)

Luffy: ":D Okay, anyways, you saved my life."

Law !!!! He ADORES you already !! It's over !! And giving more helping hand doesn't actually help your case !!

Also more exhibits of Luffy being excited over Law that I just find so cute. The way he perked up when Law was mentioned... He likes him.

He didn't say anything during Brownbeard's story until Law was mentioned, Luffy my guy.... He likes him so much, not necessarily romantic, but Luffy really just likes Law.

Law really stood no chance and asking Luffy for that alliance was the final nail to his coffin. He sealed his fate to be Luffy's super duper mega best friend FOR LIFE.

[blacklegsanjiii]

BRAINWORMED

(Sorry everyone)(also you can tell I wrote this on my phone for two hours at 3am?)

Sanji who grew up in the All Blue. Judge and Sora being loving and caring parents for their five kids. They fish and cook and are happy. When Reiju turns eight she is gifted a forever post to the All Blue and the same with 1234ji. The kids are all normal and play and swim and dive. Sora tells the kids stories of pirates who made it to Laughtale, the closest island to them, but they didn't make it to the All Blue. No one has made it except Judge and Sora, escaped royals presumed dead.

It's hard to get to their home after all. You have to make it through the Grand Line and find the caves in the calm belts that lead to a massive crater in the Redline that the All Blue resides. Sora has met those pirates that made it to Laughtale though, kind and larger than life and just. 01234 love listening to Sora's stories and Judge smiles from the kitchen as he listens.

Sanji is the best diver in his family, bringing up so much shellfish or kelp or seed pods or anything. They're happy. And then a seaking fucks with them in the calm belt when they're out for some reason and Sanji is separated and lost his forever post. He has no idea about his family and he's in the East Blue and sobbing as he gets onto the orbit and begs for a job.

Canon happens and everything is normal up until Alabasta where Ace has Niji with him and they're sobbing and hugging and like "I thought you were dead!" "I thought YOU were dead!"

"Do you have your post?"

"No, do you?"

"No."

"FUCK!"

Everyone is watching these two and Ace eventually asks Sanji if his dream is to also find the All Blue and Sanji nods. Turns out Niji was found by the White Beard fleet and has been trying to find his family while Sanji has been at the most popular restaurant in the world trying to find out about his family. And then they explain they're brothers and they got separated from their family on the calm belt. Sanji asks if Niji has seen anyone else and he shakes his head but they exchange Mushi numbers so they can keep in touch.

And they do keep each other updated up until Sanji is sent to Kamabakka by Kuma and Niji is with Luffy at Marineford and they save Ace. Luffy explains a few days later he doesn't know where any of his crew is because of Kuma. And then Jozu explains someone is here and it's Yonji, in a marine uniform. And Niji is tackling him because brother? But Marine?

"yeah, sorry, I defected and didn't have other clothes, glad youre alive, where is Sanji, Reiju, and Ichiji?" Yonji asks as he wrestles Niji to the point of sitting on him and Ace and Luffy are confused there's another one.

"No forever post?" Niji asks instead.

"No shit, dumbass, where are the others? Mom? Dad?" Yonji demands fisting his hands into Niji's shirt and them rolling around and fighting more.

When the Strawhats get back together Ace, Niji, and Yonji are the newest recruits. Rayleigh is telling Ace he's glad he's alive and then looks at 234ji and is like "are, are you kids happened to be related to a couple named Judge and Sora?"

"Yeah, those are our parents. The dead prince and princess of Germa!" Yonji grins.

"And they live on Laughtale?" Rayleigh asks hesitantly.

"No, the All Blue." The three brothers answer instantly and Rayleigh feels like having a heart attack.

"You can only get into through the calm belts, it's really hard and tedious but there was something we had to get but a sea king kind of ruined it and now we're trying to get home." Niji explains.

"Yeah! There's two more of us, Ichiji is the oldest of us boys and Reiju is our older sister." Sanji tacks on. Zoro is having a heart attack. There are four other shitcooks? He's fucked. He's so fucked and Nami thinks they're all gonna perv on her but they don't, even Sanji has chilled the fuck out and says hes just started lying to Zeff after training where he was which, what the fuck does that mean?

Once again it's all pretty normal, turns out Reiju is with Sabo in the Revolutionary Army and she gets the crews numbers so that they can keep he updated at the cabin and Law is asking what's going because they sent Sanji and Yonji ahead after Sanji's fight with Doflamingo and Sabo is like "okay well Ace and Luffy are my brothers, how the fuck do you know these people?"

"I don't, Niji is my little brother and they sent Sanji and Yonji ahead according to Law." Reiju tells the Chief of Staff.

"So what's the All Blue like? You have more memories since you're the oldest, right?" Zoro asks and Reiju smiles a serene smile Sabo and Koala have never seen on her face.

"Well, there's fish from all four blues and more. Spices and plants never seen nor tasted. It's the bluest blue you'll ever see..." She tells them all about it and Niji is smiling too, chirping in with stories. Niji makes sure she doesn't have a post either. Sabo also spends a lot of time hugging Ace and Luffy and Ace gives him a piece of his vivre card.

They get to Zou and Yonji and Sanji have been kidnapped by Gramma and Grampa Vinsmoke who test on them. Yonji is like "I think that was worse than being a marine" and Sanji is just like "I think it was worse than being at Baratie"

And Luffy is like "oh by the way your sister is gonna call soon" and is promptly tackled by the boys. Brook complains he didn't get to meet her as does Nami. When they get to Wano, still everything is the same just with extra people helping here or there. Niji tells them about Reiju talking about the All Blue and Luffy complains he wasn't awake for it. So they describe it and tell stories and Nami says the way they describe the water reminds her of their eyes.

"They're our mom's" Yonji smiles at her.

"So why do you three have different hair?" Chopper asks.

"Technically we don't, we dye it. Sanji's hair just never took the dye because he was in the water the most." Niji grins and ruffles Sanji's hair.

"So you guys really are from the All Blue?" Law double checks because first he's heard about Germa but now the All Blue exists.

"Yeah! It's shitty cuz there's a lot of spices there that are found only there and I can't ever quite replicate them." Sanji nods.

"So where do you think Ichiji is?" Yonji asks.

"Well, maybe he's with Mom and dad?" Sanji shrugs.

"Man that'd be cool." Niji sighs.

"Im stuck in you guys dying your hair." Ace admits.

"Well, we kind of had to, outside of Sanji having opposite curled brows we're identical." Niji says.

"We're quadruplets." Yonji says and Zoro almost asphyxiates on his drink.

"Bless your mother." Law breathes. "What technologies did they use?"

"Dude we lived in a floating house with a floating green house and like two desks with some microscopes. This was all natural." Niji says.

"What the fuck, what the fuck, the fuck is wrong with your family, good fuck." Law murmurs as the brothers laugh and Chopper says he wants to do a check up on their mom when they meet. They meet Ichiji towards the end of Wano since he's kind of Kaido's personal assistant and Yamato and Ace are very happy to see each other and they see Ichiji's chance for escape and he's holding his three brothers and everything.

And then they head off to continue on their way to make Luffy the Pirate King. Franky manages to replicate the Marine Tech that allows them to cross the calm belt and they send Ichiji and Yonji off to make sure Sora and Judge are alive and if so be able to house them. Sanji wishes he could go with and so does Niji but they have duties to fulfill and on the way to Laughtale Sanji and Niji tell them all about it again.

After Luffy is crowned and Shanks and Rayleigh and everyone is there and then Luffy demands they go to the All Blue next which Shanks finds ridiculous and Buggy is calling Luffy dumb but Sanji and Niji are pointing and Nami is looking at her bracelet and is like "okay, lead the way men" and they do any then their like "oh yeah, we need to worry about the sea kings this is their breeding grounds btw" and Shanks and Rayleigh go to work bullying sea kings as Sanji and Niji manage to guide the Sunny and call directions to the other boats cuz the caves are pure rapids that spit out into calmer waters. It's like a solid week sail from Laughtale to the All Blue. Everyone is looking around and Sanji and Niji immediately jump in the water and in the distance there's a floating house. With the boat Franky built. Sanji sky walks over and Niji curses him as he gets back on the boat.

Ace flies Niji and Luffy gum gum rockets after them despite Zoro yelling. When they lay anchor close to the house and boat over and see parents crying and holding their son's and then they start thanking Luffy and the crews and while Shanks and his crew are trying to like not take credit and Buggy is like "why the fuck are you praising us? What the fuck?" And Judge is catching up with Rayleigh.

Reiju shows up not too long after with Sabo and Koala and they throw a massive party where everyone is fishing or diving or gathering spices and stuff and Sanji takes Luffy into the water to float and Luffy is zapped from the water but Sanji won't let him drown.

Sanji's dream was just always getting home, to his family, to the place where they were safe.

[aslostaszoro]

!!ONE PIECE CHAPTER 1086 SPOILERS!!

So as we know, In film Red it was revealed Shanks is a member of the Figarland family-

In the latest chapter we are met with St. Figarland Garling. Who, in the translated version I found "Was a dominating figure who once distinguished himself at a place called God Valley". This can, of course, be thought of in many different ways. But I beleive he may have been the ruler of God's Valleys before it's end. Why? Its in the name. "Figarland" could also be pronounced as "figure land", a land where something of importance went down or happened. Now, how does he tie in with Shanks?

They both share the same name, and therefore have some sort of blood relevance. Shown in the picture of St. Figarland, you can see him weilding a saber of sorts. Similar to Shanks' weapon. We also learn that he is the supreme commander of the holy knight. Yes, whilst the Celestial Dragons are often shown as brass, snotty and increadibley weak this may be what sets them apart from the family. Which sets be into my next speaking point; Haki/Conquerers Haki.

Of course I won't dive into it too much but C.H is said to be an almost physical representation of a leaders spirit, a conquerers. As a Celestial Dragon, this is extremely apparent. He stands above the holy nights as supreme commander, whilst he also mocks St Donquixote Myosgard for protecting scum lower than him. Showing the beliefs of the harsh and cruel ruling of the WG while also enforcing his own strength.

Shanks stands above his crew as an incredibly strong captain, protecting those weaker than him as if they are his family, which is the complete opposite of his relative. He shows after the Big Mom and Kaido fight as well as against the bandits in the start of the manga that he hates when people try and take advantage of others in a weaker state. I beleive this could be from his upbringing on Roger's crew.

Speaking of Roger, let's go back quickly to the photo last shown, baby Shanks. Shanks is depicted wearing a onesie with stars, moons and suns on it. Garling is shown in this chapter to have a haircut in the shape of a crescent moon, linking back to the outfit. But what about the stars and the moons?

As we take a closer look at this guy we can notice he has oddly shaped spikes in his hair on both sides. But why does this come into play? simple. If you looked at him straight forward his hair would be the shape of a star. So now, how can we incorporate the sun?

Roger's voyage ends with Joyboy's secret and reaching laugh tale. Joyboy is also connected with the Sun God Nika devil fruit. Shanks later in his life meets luffy, who digests the fruit and becomes the next Joyboy. Whilst I'm still trying to figure this part out, pun intended, I can see a very important message being displayed through this.

Hopping back to God Valley we have one massive question, how the hell did Shanks end up there? Maybe it was a family trip or by coincidence. But I don't think we'll be getting answers with this little amount information. Which also bugs me. Around Marineford arc when Shanks drinks with Whitebeard he says he's from the West. Perhaps his family perviously ruled there, ruining my previous statement. But I would like to suggest a different angle.

What if it was an alliance between two nations? an alliance which resulted in the blood of two different families combining into one. Maybe thats why the Figarlands are so highly regarded. It can also help my slowly crumbling theory.

Shanks has been shown to be the complete opposite of his relative as I stated earlier. Perhaps, in an almost ironic way, he would rather pretend he was from a "town in the West Sea". He obviously couldn't say he was from Gods Valley, so that small lie could be manageable.

I'll probably end up editing this or reposting this with more theories if I end up with any more idea's, but thats all for now :)

[ideas-4-stories]

(Context: Nonbinary Buggy Supremacy, agender? Undetermined? Genderfluid? Who cares, the clown is a cutie no matter what they wear!!!)

Buggy figures out from an early age that they aren't really... a boy. Exactly? Maybe? Screw it. Sometimes being called a cabin boy or little man is okay, sometimes it's not, it's WEIRD and they don't like it. So they just. Avoid it.

Roger + Crew call Bugs and Shanks the cabin brats, they drop most of the man and boy comments, opting usually for brat or runt instead. And it works!

Then one day someone picks on Buggy playfully and calls them princess ((was it the hands-on-hips haughty fit? Was it a story book reference? Smth else? Dealer's choice))

Only... Buggy doesn't mind that. And soon enough, princess becomes a frequent nickname. And with it comes the tentative try at other names. Buggy likes neutral ones best, but they also feel pretty when they get called quote-unquote feminine terms as well. Masculine ones are... uncomfortable at best, but bearable by necessity.

After the execution, the world is in a tizzy searching for the last vestiges of Roger. Baterilla is a hot fucking mess, but equally easy targets are the newly separated cabin brats of the Roger Crew.

They are looking for Shanks, who is already making a name for himself, and the elusive "princess".

Buggy... is scared. So they distance themself from the truth of the matter, leave sea-salted, warm memories of laughter and hugs and teaching hand behind alongside a baritone voice calling them his pirate princess.

The Navy then ruins everything by publically calling them a crewmate of Roger, a cabin boy, a brother, a man and Buggy is going to be sick-

Luffy is the only one to clock something is wrong, and he reaches out. The ride to marineford isn't quite as fast as some would hope, so he uses this time to figure out what the hell is going on. And Luffy, in that hat, with a smile and dream so much like Roger, with a heart so full and warm like Shanks...

Luffy gets Buggy to talk.

By the end of it, Luffy nods. "You're the clown princess of the Seas, then," he declares. "If Shanks is your brother. He's an Emperor, right? So you can still be princess. Besides, I'll be king! So that just means you're my family too. Can I call you untie?"

Buggy doesn't cry, they DON'T.

But they might hug Strawhat once or twice, and maybe they even keep an eye on their new nephew. And learning his brother is Captain's son...?

Well. Luffy did claim them as family already.

And Buggy was raised by one of the best damn families there was, after all. Family means nobody gets away with hurting one of their own.

Now they aren't strong, they aren't built for brawls.

But maybe Buggy is fast enough, clever enough, and distracting enough to get some serious damage dealt.

((And maybe they can catch the attention of a few warlords, past or present, in the process...))

Buggy's gender is like lost in a Schrödinger's box that was sent to space... much like my gender. Hahahahahaha little projecting this is.

Anyway, this is so fucking cute I cannot, I wanted to cry when I read the part Luffy is being such a sweetheart that he always is. I was also thinking Princess being a nickname that Roger gave Buggy.

Poor Buggy having to distant themselves from who she is and his past. The world is too cruel to Buggy, well until he gets his crew... then other things happen... Buggy has a lot going for him... RIP

Luffy claiming Buggy as family!!! It's too cute!!!

As part, I think Buggy doesn't like fighting unless it's truly necessary, like saving a crewmate life sort of thing. Headcanon of Buggy being very fast and nimble even as he grows older, and Buggy was definitely the brains to Shanks's brawn.

(Buggy catching attention of a few warlords is so good to pass up)

[sporesgalaxy]

idk if youve talked abt it or not, but whats pierres opinions on red hair? considering buggys... "hatred" for shanks and his status as a warlord?

Okay I recieved this ask a while ago and wrote a little script for the idea almost immediately but idk if I will get around to drawing it, so!!!! Here You Go:

[Buggy is continuing to recount his wild escape from Impel Down and subsequent participation in the Battle of Marineford to Pierre]

B: --and then, of all people, SHANKS showed up!!! >:(

P: Red Haired Shanks? The Emperor?

B: Red Haired Shanks the insufferable BASTARD!! Red Haired Shanks the BANE of my FUCKING existence!!!!!

P: [laughs a little] Huh! I didn't know you had beef with him.

•••

B: It's not just BEEF, Pierro!!! Did I ever tell you what he did to me?!

P: No, what?

B: He's the reason I can't swim!!! Think of how much treasure that's cost me!!!

P: He gave you your devil fruit?

B: NO!!!!!! He ruined my plan to sell it!

[Buggy recounts The Backstory the same way he told it to Luffy in the comic]

P: ...Wait...so, he saved your life?

B: [snippy] He's the reason I almost died in the first place!!!!

P: Oh, yeah. Huh...

P: ...

B: [suspicious] What?! If you've got somethin to say, spit it out!!

[Pierre scratches the back of his head, a little embarassed he was so obviously Thinking Something]

P: Did all that happen while you were on Gol D. Roger's crew?

B: [makes a face] ...Oh, yeah. You know about that, huh?

P: [shrugs] It was all over the news after Impel Down.

B: [curt] Yeah. I met Shanks on Roger's crew. What about it?

P: ...It's just crazy to think you almost left then, I guess.

B: ...

[Buggy takes another drink]

P: ...so did Shanks cheat at cards or anything?

B: Oh, CONSTANTLY!!!

B: Of course, so did I, because we're pirates, but no one ever believed me when I caught him in the act!!!

[airplanned]

Work in Progress Monday!

Presenting: The first scene of A Me for You spin off with Robin, who's trying her best not to be an unhinged, eldritch grief monster

Or: wait, wait! I think I have a plot/structure for this! (Which is funny, because it needs to come after the Nami spin off. Oh well!)

--

Three months after Marineford

Robin waits by the sloop, standing on the ruined dock facing a ruined town.  The smell of smoke still hangs in the air, and she  breathes through her mouth and ignores the images flashing through her mind.  Her hands ball into tight fists, because she doesn't allow them to shake.

She has always been good at keeping it together.

By the time the figure strides towards her, pausing just three steps onto the dock to tilt his head at her, she has the most perfect bored posture.

"Dracule Mihawk," she greets with dispassion.  This man could kill her, so she'll have to be ready to kill him first.  That would be unfortunate.  "My name is Nico Robin."

"Demon Child," he says.

"Yes."

"I've never heard of you."

The corners of her mouth twitch, something in her chest stuttering as it loosens.  "I'm looking for information regarding Roronoa Zoro."

He blinks gleaming gold eyes at her.  "Roronoa Zoro."

"He is first mate of the Strawhat Crew, and a swordsman of some renown."

He sighs as if the conversation is vexing, and in a bored voice says, "My understanding is that the Strawhat Crew went into hiding for their own safety.  Such deep hiding that even their own crewmates are unable to find them."  His eyebrow twitches.  "Or perhaps I've been misinformed."

"You have not."

"Then I wouldn't have the slightest idea."

"I know.  I'm not asking where he is.  I just want to know if he's alive and well."

His eyes narrow slightly.  "How would I know that?"

"There's a legend.  When you hold someone's life in your hands and show mercy, a debt is formed on a spiritual level.  You would feel the release of that debt upon his death."  (He would feel the ripping, the tearing, the blinding shock of pain--)

The story is nonsense.  There's no such legend, and if there was, even she wouldn't be desperate enough to believe it.

It's nonsense.  And Dracule Mihawk will recognize it as such, and with any luck, he will take it as the opportunity for the plausible deniability that it is.

Because Robin knows that Mihawk and her swordsman are soulmates, and Dracule Mihawk is the only person she knows who can tell her if Zoro is alive.

"That is absurd," he says.

"Perhaps."

He hums and lazily steps forward.  "I have felt no such release of his debt.  So by your logic, I would assume he is alive."

She holds herself back from sagging in relief.  Alive, alive, alive, alive.

"You want to know if he's doing well."  He's closer now, and getting closer.  "Roronoa Zoro is determined and loyal to a fault.  After being separated from his friends and watching his captain suffer such a bitter defeat while wrestling with the guilt that he failed to be there to help...No, I imagine he is not faring well at all."

A shudder runs through her.  Pain and regret and sympathy because she knows what Zoro feels.  It's a part of what she herself feels.

Mihawk comes even with her and keeps walking, passing her to head towards his sloop.  "But he is strong," he says.  "I'm sure he will recover and return to his usual, irksome self."

She hums in agreement, her eyes locked on the ruined town in front of her.

Then his footsteps pause.

He heaves a put upon sigh.

He does not turn around as he says, "I know I'll regret asking this.  But how many other Strawhat Pirates have you managed to track down?"

"One."  She looks over her shoulder and meets the corner of his eye.  "Our sharpshooter seems to be doing as well as could be expected.  Perhaps better than most.  It seems he didn't watch the broadcast."

"A blessing."

"Indeed."

He turns and easily hops aboard his small ship, untying the moor lines and tossing them away.  She offers a few quiet hands to push him on his way.

As he drifts off, he gives her one final look.  "My condolences, Nico Robin."  His sincerity sets something aching in her chest.  And he sounds sincere with his next words as well.  "Do not contact me again."

She bows her head in agreement, and he turns away.  She watches until his ship is nearly out of sight.

Then she allows herself a single moment.  She hugs herself as tightly as she can and heaves the deepest breath she can mange.

Zoro is alive.  Alive, alive, alive. 

This time, her family will survive.

[princevictoriapunk]

Kuraigana

Date: 22.09.2020

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Mihawk, Zorro, Perona

Theme: Halloween on Kuraigana

OPA Challenge: #FallWriting

Crossposted: One Piece Amino

An island long deserted in Paradise.

Its twisted beauty will mesmerize.

Its fallen kingdom old, forgotten.

Kuraigana left barely untrodden.

Not too long ago raged a war, horrible.

To Marineford it's easily comparable.

From past events Humandrills learnt.

Dwelled in the ruins they had usurped.

Take cover from those raging beasts.

Stride past all ruins, follow the streets.

Careful not to draw the creatures' wrath.

Do not ever turn 'round or leave the path.

These monsters don't seem to fight fair.

Of your surroundings, always stay aware.

Don't worry, soon you're not alone anymore.

When the time comes, I'll reward your valour.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

A swordsman arrived soon, is he pale.

Did not mind the place's gloomy veil.

Made himself a home in the castle.

Alone; by his side not a single vassal.

Said man, Dracule Mihawk, is his name.

For himself a high title he could claim:

A Shichibukai, a Warlord of the Sea.

Facing him, it's either fight or flee.

For a man like him, a favourable place.

No one was there to disturb his grace.

Even the violent Humandrills feared him,

Yet they helped the man appearing grim.

Little did he know about the future ahead.

Soon, two more mouths would need to be fed.

Out at war was the golden-eyed man for now.

People he'd allow to stay with him, somehow.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

Barely anyone disturbed his peace.

However, the number soon'd increase.

The Thriller Bark's princess stranded

Without a zombie she had commanded.

Kuma had sent her on a journey there,

To leave her in someone else's care.

Together they had to get arranged.

Life in the castle now would change.

Despite often being a drama queen,

Perona got used to her new routine.

Often lent a hand for the chores.

Mihawk was not the one who deplores.

Horo-horo-horo-horo-horo, hauntingly.

First, the gothic lolita laughs tauntingly.

But only until she sees her biggest fear.

Cockroaches.. can't they just disappear?!

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

Each night, the sky dyed in many hues.

Some purples, teals, greens, and blues.

Dozens of stars and a crescent moon,

Singing each night a lullaby's soft tune.

The princess stepped into the high halls.

A perfect place for masquerade balls.

If she only had Kumashi by her side.

Over the dark marble, she would glide.

An orchestra would play dark melodies,

Shadows dancing past her in her reveries.

The ballroom lit by chandeliers, golden.

A cute, young prince her heart had stolen.

Out of all, her gown would be the cutest.

"Oh, could I be her", you of course wished.

Her precious daydream, it has to end.

If she soon will have another friend?

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

All separated on Sabaody, Zorro arrived.

Thanks to Perona, he luckily had survived.

To retrieve his swords, he earned her trust.

To survive here, they both needed to adjust.

Neither of them had noticed Mihawk's return.

Defeating the Humandrills was their concern.

Zorro got informed about Marineford's events.

The thought of being unable to help, he resents.

His situation he viewed rather realistically.

Compared to Perona and her stay, cynically.

Nonetheless, he defeated all his opponents.

The creatures caused the postponements.

Eventually, to Mihawk had Zorro bowed.

To become the strongest, he had vowed.

Dracule accepted and began the training.

The following two years would be draining.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

How time flies; it's already late October.

Sweet, Halloween at last had come closer.

Horror and scary stories below we'll bandy.

Did you really expect to get some candy?

Werewolves, vampires, reapers, zombies.

Jack-o'-lanterns, will-o'-wisps, banshees.

Let's dance around the fire, all you witches.

Scarecrows show their face full of stitches.

Join us, all you dancing and singing skeletons.

Tonight you shall become humans' predators.

You too, my dear mummies, Devils and demons.

Because this is by far the best of all seasons!

Enjoy tonight, for we shall spook the mortals.

Whoever scares the most will win the laurels.

You heard right, dear, tonight is Halloween.

This very night we monsters become serene.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

[supermarine-silvally]

❝ you're not alone. you'll never be alone. not as long as i'm here. ❞ + YaraAce -🍂

really hurt me, I can take it

MY ANGSTY BABIIIIIIIIIIEEEESSSS ahhhh tysm, I hope with the context of Marineford that this provides a sufficient amount of Pain :'D

(drabble below the cut!)

“What’s that?”

Yara immediately whipped around, shoving the piece of paper behind her back. “Nothing,” she said tersely. 

Ace gave her one of his best disarming grins in return. “C’mon, Yara. You were just glaring at the thing like it owed you money. What’s got you so riled up?”

She glanced away, unable to meet his gaze. “Just drop it, Ace. It’s not important.”

He frowned, leaning to the side and tilting his head. “Wait… Is that Mihawk’s bounty poster?”

Yara let out a defeated sigh, her arms falling to her side as she allowed the front of the paper to face him. “Yeah. It was the last one issued for him before he joined the Warlords. I found it at a market as a kid, and I just… haven’t been able to part with it since.”

Her fingers tightened around the poster’s edge, crumpling it slightly. “I don’t know why I kept it. I hate the bastard. He ruined my life.”

“Hey, you’re here now, so it’s not completely ruined, right?”

“Tch.” She turned away. “It’s not as clear-cut as your case. You wouldn’t understand.”

Sympathy flickered through Ace’s expression as he rested his palm against her cheek, tilting her head so that their eyes connected. “Try me.” 

Yara was silent for a moment. “It was… When I was a kid, I used to have this fantasy where I would stare out at the ocean and imagine his ship sailing in, coming to take me away with him,” she admitted at last. “For the longest time, I didn’t understand who I was. Why my left eye looks the way it does. When I saw that poster… For the first time in my life, I had an answer. But that answer only led to more questions.”

She took a few paces forwards, her gaze falling upon the worn parchment. The photograph depicting the stern-faced man had started to wash away, faded by time. “I don’t understand, Ace. World’s Greatest Swordsman or not, I don’t understand who would do such a thing to their own child. How he could make me feel so… so forgotten. So alone. And I… Maybe I’ll always be alone.” 

“Yara,” Ace said gently, taking the poster from her hands and placing it down on a crate. “You’re not alone. And you’ll never be alone. Not as long as I’m here.”

Yara swallowed, finally getting the strength to face him again. “Please don’t ever leave me, Ace,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

He smiled as he pulled her in for a hug, nuzzling his cheek against her hair before pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Never, sweetheart. I promise.”

[sugiwa]

“Hack at it with a sword until all the was wrong was so thoroughly wounded that it would never recover.” this sentence is really neat to me i just thought i would tell you that.

“…Back home—we were supposed to go back home together.” this is when the tears started coming. question: would home to penny be the red force?

“There was no twinkling clang of the bells, not even a hum of response. Nothing but silence.” I’m telling my therapist about you. Also this sentence reminds me of Caliban’s monologue from the Tempest when he talks about his island and it makes me even more sad.

“Amid the ruin, it was the only thing untouched.” THE SOUL OF HER SHIP, their friendship and the love and the story that brought her ship to life is the only thing untouched- i’m not okay

“I missed you a lot when you were gone.” SHUT UP-

[If people never got their wishes answered, then they’d lose hope in the world/ a wish was only as powerful as the will behind it.] sugiwa everyday i get closer and closer to the truth of her devil fruit, mark my words i will figure it out😩

“Do you remember when we sailed all the way to Elbaf, only to have the fish blow us back?” I chuckled at this lol, Penny would be Odysseus hitting her crewmates over the head and calling them idiots if she had them

(“Oh, of course,” laughed her ship.) no because i thought the exact same thing when penny said that. it’s such a simple solution but of course she would resort back to it because the same love for writing and stories is the love that created the looking glass and binds them together. writing created the looking glass, why wouldn’t it be the same way penny keeps her alive.

i genuinely felt such relief when she said that and all the sorrow that i felt over what seemed like their farewell was soothed because nothing disappears or goes away forever as long as there is someone telling the story.

This is so lovely, so thank you for all the wonderful details in here. Home to Penny very much is the Red Force these days and I think it kinda fits within this theme of each of the Straw Hats having that one person to return to, only Penny's is somewhere ahead of them rather than behind them. We'll get into more details as to what Penny said to Shanks after that argument they had, but essentially, she was always going to go back (And as Beckmen told her, bring the World's Greatest Story with her).

It's not so much that Shanks replaced her parents or anything--she doesn't really view him as a father. Even when she didn't have all her memories, Penny knew that she was Lucy and Belle's daughter--she just didn't remember them (their voices, the things they did together, what they were like, etc.) What she did know about the Stage Pirates was only what she could bear to remember: that they had all died at the Navy's hand and because the World Government did such a wonderful job of making even saying Lucy's name a huge taboo (we will explore this further in Thriller Bark).

Hehehehe, her Devil Fruit....if Penny had been on Skypeia, she might have learned a bit more about it but, we'll wait for Robin to reveal something later on 👀

The Looking Glass's death was something I had written a while back. At first, I was going to keep her around as a shikigami (a paper spirit like in Spirted Away), but then I thought about the logistics of that and decided it was a bit messy and thought of what else I could do which is where we happened upon the ink. Using the ashes of her dream ship as the ink of her future story is so Penny, so I went with that angle. I also think that Penny needed some closure after losing so many of her friends without being able to save any of them--she's talked about it a bit, but we'll see later on that this build up of loss will prepare her for what happens at Marineford later on.

Also, if we think about the ink that is used on the Thousand Sunny--Nami's maps, Robin's studies, the Poneglyph etchings, and one day, Penny's stories--Penny's sharing a lot more of herself with the Straw Hats than she has with anyone else so far.

[alevens]

Dadan loved all of her brats equally, but Ace death had to hit her so fucking hard because as shitty as Ace was when angry, as rude and violent they'd be with each other, as frequent the insults and fights and 'I ain't doing the laundry, old hag!' were, as strained her relationship with him could be at times, Dadan had raised him since he was a baby.

again, not to say she cared more about Ace, or held him on dearer level than Luffy and Sabo, but almost from the very moment he was born until he was ten, the only thing Ace could semi-call a family was her and the Dadan family. at first she probably couldn't give less of a shit about a baby she didn't want and now was under her care, she probably told the rest of the mountain bandits to look after him, that maybe she owed Garp, but this was crossing the goddamn line. but at some point she would get so annoyed at the constant cries of both the baby and the bandits that she would be the one doing almost everything Ace related.

imagine if Ace wouldn't and couldn't fall asleep unless Dadan was the one to held him, if he didn't grab a handful of hair to remind himself who was the one rocking him then he wouldn't stop crying, Dadan knew a handful of things about babies, so imagine how proud and happy that he wouldn't babble uncomfortably anymore she was when patting him in the back helped him with colics. yes she liked when the brat would shut up but she didn't mind it that much when he started talking, and yeah, whatever, maybe her heart did this weird shit were it felt extremely full when his first word was something close to her name.

imagine when he started walking, when he started to play by himself outside, all of the Dadan family was involved when it came to Ace, since with time they got the hand of raising a child, but Dadan, who loved to pretend she was annoyed by Ace's very existence, was the first to raise when Ace fell, she didn't help him, but she did scold him and everyone understood what she meant by 'stop being so reckless you little shit!'

imagine, too, when Ace's heart started to grow with hate around it, when he started to spend less and less time inside and instead went around asking what they called The Question, when he went from seven to eight to nine to ten just hunting and going all the way to the Gray Terminal beating the shit out of most people. Dadan knew the brat since he was the chubbiest, baldest and loudest baby ever and now, now Ace, far too young to be worrying about the significance of his own life, wouldn't even look at her when he explained what he spent his day doing, at that point what could she do, really? her, who only gave him a roof and food because she was scared of the man who told her to take him in, Ace wasn't his father and the bastard sins weren't his to bear, and yet, yet he still had his blood on him. his mother should be there with him, not a mountain bandit who didn't know what to say to make the kid understand he wasn't a mistake

he was the devil's son, and her life would probably be better if she never knew the brat in the first place, and even so, she spent her every waking moment worrying about him and the life he'd led when he grew up. Dadan raised him, from a baby to an angry child to a caring teenager, the good that started to be his normal certainly wasn't thanks to her, but she was still there for him, so she thinks that counts for something

Ace thought about her on his last moments, Dadan would never stop thinking about the brat she took the liberty to call hers.

[strawhatkenn]

got my sister into one piece. guess who her favorite is rn. . .

PORTGAS D. ACE

[blacklegsanjiii]

What do you think Koby and Ichiji's first date would even be like? Ichiji who has never been romantic in his life and is just like am I supposed to bring flowers. Where do we even go. I'd kill a man for him is that good enough?

Just so everyone knows I'm working on the other asks as well. CoraxSora is back on the menu but this??? This???

Do you think Ichiji is asking Reiju what to do and she's smiling at him because he is so flustered and confused and wants it to be perfect. She says something along the lines this would be the perfect question for Sanji and since he's married and Ichiji asks what that means because after Wano it came out Sanji and Luffy got married and if he had paid attention he would know that. Ichiji is despairing actively until it's time for the date.

Ichiji is picking the marine up- is that Garp, no time for that now- and takes Koby to the nicest restaurant he can find. He has a bouquet of flowers he shoves into Koby's hand who thanks him with a laugh because according to the staff that was something that he could do. They're sat at the restaurant and Ichiji is trying to make conversation before just giving up and asking Koby about the Marines because he can go on for hours. He does luckily and Ichiji is so happy to listen to him and has a small smile on his face.

Koby talks about joining the Marines and training under Garp and hibari and helmeppo and Marineford and Teach and everything. Ichiji is listening and commenting and they get into a couple friendly debates. They have dinner and dessert and they're both dressed in more "civilian' clothing as they walk around after and Ichiji doesn't have his raid suit. They don't drift back to the Strawhats until Koby starts laughing to himself after a few moments of silence. Ichiji asks what's so funny and Koby tells him that everyone kept trying to get him to not go on the date because he's the Crown Prince of Germa and Koby told them all off because look at Helmeppo and Garp's families. Hibari just pouted at him as he got ready and left. Ichiji says he doesn't blame them given Germa's history.

"You sound like you're rooting for your kingdom's demise." Koby chuckles.

"I think I am." Ichiji shrugs which makes Koby look at him.

"What would you do then?" Koby asks.

"I don't know, follow you around maybe." Ichiji answers.

"You could join the Marines~." Koby sing songs.

"Oh no. I grew up in Germa and it ruined my life and siblings lives. I don't want to be a marine or a pirate or a revolutionary, I just want to be, I think." Ichiji says. Koby nods.

"I think being is good enough." Koby agrees. Maybe when Ichiji drops him off they're holding hands, maybe Koby kisses his cheek and says it's like sheet metal which makes Ichiji rub his neck awkwardly. Maybe Ichiji makes sure he gets back safe inside before leaving.

Maybe they have plans for a second date.

[mastomysowner]

Chapter 1049

Oh boy, what a chapter it was. First: at last. Y��know what I mean.

But even more I waited for Kaidou's flashback. It was a bit of a surprise to find out that he’s also a member of the World Nobles Ruined My Life club...

(The original text is blunter, it says they’ll lose their 人権, human rights) 

...and that he wanted to create a world of war to get back at them.  

(Literally: “Let’s drag those peace-loving people in power, just born into nobility, down onto battlefield!!!”)

After all, he was a child soldier, like the ones Doflamingo thought about in Marineford. Now it’s clear why Doffy was talking about children who don’t know peace when he badmouthed the WG.

"平和"���知ねェ子供共と"戦争"を知ねェ子供共との価値観が違う!!! // Brats who don’t know peace and brats who don’t know war have different values!!!

There’s more. These examples illustrate the values that Doflamingo had in mind - the attitude towards food, and as we know from Doffy’s flashback, the Celestial Dragons and famine go hand in hand. So Luffy's response that he will create a world where his friends can eat their fill becomes even more important.

Looks like Im should brace himself really hard. I’ll finally get to see what the National Treasure of Mariejois is, hooray!~

We’re in the endgame now. I believe the next arc will be the last, everything points to it. So Doflamingo's cherished dream will finally come true. Good, good.

[holykillercake]

Red String

𝕊ℍ𝔸ℕ𝕂𝕊 𝕏 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕖!ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

word count: 2.8k

summary: You had any place in the world to moor, a stable and safe summer paradise somewhere in the South Blue, or you could visit the winter island where cherry blossoms painted the freezing horizon pink. The world was on the menu, and yet you chose to break into a Yonko territory.

highlight:  ¨What about you, Y/N? Will you try to put your hands on me?¨ 

warning: Look out for your arm, it might melt with the fluff.

notes: Hi, guys! This was an anon request for Shanks x Marine Reader. I was given the freedom to write whatever I wanted, so I hope you guys like it! <3 Dear, anon, I apologize for the time it took and I hope you read it! 

𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤, 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖!

¨I have to say, not a usual place for a Vice Admiral to enjoy a vacation.¨ a smirk bent your lips as you heard the playful voice of the man who courted you with another drink. 

¨Well, I´m no usual Vice Admiral.¨

¨No one doubts that.¨ He put the sword on the table and pulled a chair, sitting close to you. ¨You have grown, Y/N.¨

¨You have aged.¨

¨Oi, not very nice. You hurt my feelings.¨ the red-haired placed the hand on his chest, over the heart, faking an offended tone. 

¨Mission accomplished.¨ 

You stared at each other for about four seconds before breaking into laughter. As always, Shanks was louder, banging his fist on the wooden table and vocalizing his amusement to anyone who had ears to hear. 

¨It´s been a long time, Y/N.¨ he wheezed, still recovering from his overreaction.

¨Yes, it has, Red hair.¨

¨Red hair? Really? I mean, you tried to kill me way too many times already. You gotta call me by my name.¨ You chuckled, sipping your drink. ¨Especially when you´re at my house.¨

You grinned, shaking your head and biting your lip. Of course, the bastard would not let this opportunity slip. 

After years of non-stop hard work, you received a few weeks off duty. That meant that the world could split open, the moons could fall into the atmosphere followed by the sun, and you would not have to move a single finger.  

Issho-san would handle that better in any way. 

You had any place in the world to moor, a stable and safe summer paradise somewhere in the South Blue, or you could visit the winter island where cherry blossoms painted the freezing horizon pink. The world was on the menu, and yet you chose to break into a Yonko territory. 

However, the Yonko in question was more than just an Emperor of the Sea. Your lives entangled at a very young age when the Pirate King was still alive, and Garp had melanin left in his hair. 

You were just two snotty brats fighting your Captains´ battles. 

¨Anyway,¨ he chugged his drink and asked for another one. ¨I missed you in Marineford.¨ 

¨Well, I guess I missed Marineford myself. Had a good view, though.¨ you answered nonchalantly. 

¨What do you mean?¨

¨I had an underling transmit me the whole thing.¨

¨Isn´t that handy?¨

You tried not to laugh. It was stupid, but every time you had Shanks and hand in the same sentence, you felt the urge to laugh.

¨I wanted to see Luffy.¨ you said.

¨Why not go there, then?¨

¨Duty called somewhere else.¨ you shrugged. ¨Besides, I would have been no help for him.¨

¨You´re saying you wouldn´t help him?¨ Shanks carried a suspicious tone in his voice.

¨Of course I wouldn't help him.¨ You took a sip of your drink. ¨But thanks... for stopping that madness.¨ 

The man casually stretched his arms above his head, tilting his head back, enjoying the warm sun.

¨No biggie. You owe me another one, and we should be fine.¨ he smiled.

¨Who´s counting?¨

¨I am.¨ 

¨I already stopped hunting you, Shanks. Isn´t that enough?¨

¨Not on my book, Y/N.¨

For a long portion of your life, you had a personal mission to give the Red Hair the same fate as his Captain. Whenever his crew was located, you would be the one hunting them. No one dared to tell you otherwise. 

By that time, you had no significant position. Maybe a Lieutenant, Captain tops. But being related to the Hero of the Marines, well, that granted you some free passes, and as long as you could hand Shanks´head in a tray, a little nepotism didn´t bother you. 

Actually, although everyone saw you as Garp´s relative, you were just his first protegé, his first rescued dog. Apparently, the highly ranked officers were going through boring times and decided to pay their dues by doing charity.

The only one you got to know was Sengoku´s kid. Rosinante was his name. To this very day, you could not think of him without the twist in your heart. 

Even you didn´t know how to describe it, and honestly, you didn´t care. Was the job done at the end of the day? Good. 

That was all that mattered until another pawn entered the game, a very troublesome one, by the way. Slept like a rock and ate all your food. You couldn´t help but fall in love with little Monkey D. Luffy. 

He was the one to give you the answer you had stopped looking for a while ago.

In order to be his older sister, you had to be Garp´s granddaughter. Everyone loved the idea, except for the man himself. 

You were as keen as Garp to make Luffy become a great Marine. You bought him tailor-made marine onesies and shared stories about the seas. Whenever he spotted you approaching with the leather book in your hands, he would get restless. 

The onesies, however, those never lasted. They were thrown in a boiling dumpster altogether with your dream of him joining you in a job one day.

The sun was about to set, and you had just returned from a long and intricate mission when you received a call from Makino saying that Luffy had gotten into some trouble. 

Not only that, The Red Hair Pirates were somehow involved. It was all you heard before hanging off the den den mushi and hopping in a Marine ship, headed to Foosha Village.  

The idea of Shanks causing Luffy any pain or just giving him a hard time made you turn into a beast. But your bloodshot eyes were washed clean by the image of your brother, safe and sound, hanging out with Red Hair, who seemed rather... different. 

¨Why would you do that?! What do you want, Red Hair?!¨ 

A lot of things went through your head, but none of them could explain why a pirate, why him, would sacrifice his arm to save Luffy. There was no way he didn´t know about your little brother´s connections. 

¨I want to pay you a drink. But only if you stop yelling.¨ 

With a swing of his hand and a smile, Makino appeared with a jug of beer before you could spit fire on him again. 

¨They´ve been really good at keeping Luffy entertained this past year, Y/N-san.¨ she said, kind as usual, before leaving.

You sighed and took a seat by his side. 

¨Why did you do that?¨

¨I bet on his life. Just that. Why is that a problem? You don´t want to feel grateful for a pirate?¨ 

Your grip tightened around the cold glass, teeth clenching and knuckles turning white. 

¨No.¨

Gratitude was never the problem. You would be grateful to anyone who risked their lives for Luffy, but he... you needed to hate him. But no matter how much you tried, you couldn´t get yourself to do it. 

¨I don´t want you thinking that I owe you anything.¨

¨You don´t have to owe me anything, Y/N. But we´ve known each other for a while now, so... we both know that you will.¨ 

His lips turned into an honest smile, no teasing behind it, and you wished not to have your heart beating faster for it. 

¨You don´t kn-¨

¨Y/N!¨ Luffy entered the bar, running to you with the brightest of the smiles on his face.¨Are you done? I have to show you something!¨ he asked, pulling the fabric of your coat.

¨Oi, behave Luffy, I´ll be done in-¨

¨Nooo!¨ he pouted before turning to the opposite side and pulling one of his impish grins ¨Look what I can do! Gomu gomu no...¨ 

His tiny hand balled into a fist, which you watched stretch all the way to the opposite side of the room before coming back and hitting him in the face. 

Did his arm just...      

The air froze in the room. You blinked a couple of times, hearing a few gasps around the bar, your gaze fixed in the same place his hand was seconds ago.

¨Luffy-kun, why don´t you come outside with me?¨ Makino extended her hand for him to take. ¨I´ll bring some meat.¨

The kid screamed in excitement and followed her, drool dripping down his chin. 

So close, Shanks. So close. He thought, lowering his head on the counter and waiting to get chewed up. However, after a few unscathed seconds, the red-haired lifted his head, almost not believe his eyes. 

That was the first and last time you bowed to a pirate. 

Of course, later on, you punched him for letting Luffy eat a Devil Fruit. 

You swore to leave him and his crew alone, as long as they did not cause bigger problems, which they eventually did, but you had a debt you could never pay, and you ended up focusing on other things. 

Those things made it difficult for you to visit Luffy as much as you wanted, but since Garp had sent him to live with Dadan, you could sleep with a clean consciousness. 

Whenever you paid him visits, he would tell you about these other kids, whom he considered brothers. One you got to meet, Sabo, smart and polite. The other, however, ran from you like you were a freaking plague. 

Ace, another one with whom you had an inestimable debt. 

¨Humor me, Y/N. If not Foosha, why here?¨

You shrugged.

¨I was passing by, and the place seemed quite enjoyable.¨ 

¨Hm.¨ the wind blew stronger, turning the gentle swishing of the palm trees into a harsher rustling. ¨Should I get my men ready for a conflict?¨

¨Relax, Shanks. Right now, this is the safest place on earth.¨

¨What do you mean?¨ he asked, genuinely curious. 

¨Oh, come on.¨ you scoffed. ¨Not even the World Government will try to put their hands on you, and I´ll kill anyone who dares to ruin my vacation.¨

¨What about you, Y/N? Will you try to put your hands on me?¨ 

His gaze was heavy on you, conquering aura filling the place. You looked at him with narrowed eyes and a smirk growing on your lips. 

This guy...

You harnessed the moment to take in his features, a lot more mature than you remembered. Although the scars were deeper and he seemed more tired, his hair shone like fresh blood, and his eyes... you were afraid to drown in them. 

¨What would you do if I decided to put my hands on you?¨ you bit your lip. ¨I heard you´ve been terrorizing some kids lately.¨

¨Gotta give them a run for their bounties, right?¨ He laughed. ¨But I also heard some interesting things about you, Y/N.¨

You raised your eyebrows as if you were encouraging him to tell you more. 

¨Apparently, I´m not the only one spending recreational time with young pirates. And there I thought Marines weren´t supposed to hunt Warlords of the Sea.¨

A shiver ran down your body, already aware of the subject he was about to bring up.

¨Well, I have no idea what you´re talking about.¨ You said, giving him your best oblivious eyelash bat. 

¨Oh yeah? Because it was brought to my attention that you made some business with... what´s his name again?¨ he pretended exaggeratedly to think about it ¨Ah, Trafalgar Law.¨

¨Only time I spoke to him, he was a Warlord as well. And I just wanted to thank him for helping Luffy in Marineford.¨

¨You´re gonna start lying to me at this point of our relationship?¨ Shanks teased to eager a bit of the tension, and a scoff left your mouth.

¨First, you´re delusional. Second, you´re too nosey for your own good.¨ 

The two of you laughed along like you were not natural enemies.

¨Did you get to meet Luffy in Dressrosa? Heard they made an alliance.¨

¨Hm, yeah. But no, couldn´t get myself to do it.¨

You frowned, hurting for have had your little brother so close but not being brave enough to approach him. Good thing he had no idea about your presence in the scene, and you could trust Law´s discretion to keep it that way. 

¨He doesn´t hate you, you know.¨

¨Yeah, I know...¨

That was true. Luffy didn´t hate you for not helping him in Marienford, just like he didn´t hate Garp for standing in his way. He had too big of a heart for that. 

Shanks let you have your time in silence, empathizing with your feelings. He too had to make sacrifices by standing his ground before.

¨What now?¨ he asked.

¨What now?¨ 

¨Garp is retired. Joker is down. What´s holding you back?¨

The air got stuck in your lungs. The reality you had been running from, the question for which you postponed to find an answer. 

When Garp took you in, the alternatives available for you were restricted, to say the very least. It was either accept the kindness of a stranger or die. He taught you his trade and molded you into one of the best-skilled marines. 

As the time passed and you learned the ugly truth behind the World Government, the disgust and disbelief made you want to leave. Fortunately, your life was not stained by the passage of a Celestial Dragon, but how were you supposed to protect them, aware of the atrocities they afflicted to people?

At the same time, how could you leave Garp after everything he did for you? Of course, he would survive if you disappointed him that much, but you owed him your life. 

What made you stay, however, was something much less pleasant than a lifetime debt. Thirteen years ago, evil prevailed, and you lost something really important. Or rather, someone. 

Commander Donquixote Rosinante. Marine code 01746. 

He had a sense of justice like no one else. He was strong, honest, and fair. Did he make you want to pull your hair out every time he lit himself on fire? Yes. Did it bother you to have stains on your tatami because he dropped hot tea on it? Yes. He possessed the ability to get you on your nerves, but he was your family. 

You were supposed to be the greatest. 

Long story short, that night, at Swallow Island, you left with more than just his dead body. You inherited his will. 

You swore to take down the man responsible for shortening his life, and hopefully, in a later day, you could meet the little boy about whom he spoke so highly. 

It took you thirteen years. No more ties of the past, no more strings on you. 

Well, just one, if you were to be entirely honest with yourself. A string of a stupid tale, a nonsense legend, a foolish myth. The Thread of Destiny, supposed to connect two people together. They say the thread may stretch or tangle, but it shall never break. 

Bullshit. There´s no such a thing. 

But assuming that there was, why did you feel that if you pulled it to its very end, what you would find would be red as well? 

Red as the vest Luffy wore diligently; red as the nose of a cranky apprentice; red as the pompous sails of the Oro Jackson; red as the locks of the man capable of stopping wars with words.

Would you dare to be anything else? Could you step out of your own life like this? Could you abandon everything you fought for all these years? 

¨You know, I´ve said it in the past, but I´ll say it again. We could use someone like you in our crew.¨ 

You gave him a two-second smirky scoff before frowning again. 

Were you worthy enough to owe yourself the chance to choose? What did it mean, the justice coat of a Vice Admiral you carried so proud on your shoulders?

If piracy took a lot from you in the past, could piracy, or a pirate, give you everything back? 

¨Y/N?¨

¨Hm?¨ You hummed, gaze locked on the lethargic view. 

Hot puffs of air played with your hair and involved your skin in a warm hug. You could hear the gentle sound of the waves crashing on the shore, coastal birds cooing and the wind whistling over the rocks. 

¨Do you think, maybe, one day... I could ask you out?¨

No matter how many times you rewound the tape, you couldn´t find a different answer, a plausible reason for the burning feeling you held for him, whatever that meant. 

From the first time you put your eyes on each other, a contract was opened without even a handshake. A deal was set without your acknowledgment. An ironic fate tied you to the same string. 

¨Yeah... maybe.¨

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Wano (Part One)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

shirahoshi seeing the sun for the first time is really a relatively minor and understated thing, among all the chaos and revelations of reverie, but it strikes me as one of the most meaningful little moments in the arc. 

i LOVE the luffy fanclub. i love that a meeting of the world leaders winds up being a who’s-who with assorted friends of one of the world’s most notorious criminals, and it brings me SO much joy to see them meeting each other and being able to connect. i feel the same way about coby and rebecca meeting.

in general, and i think i said this at marineford too, i love that the one piece world is developed and interconnected and alive enough to allow for these sorts of interactions. 

fucked up that this was almost a hundred chapters ago and we still have no clue what the fuck was up with this, isn’t it? 

i do find the introduction of im fascinating. up until this point we’ve had two presumed final villains- blackbeard and akainu- who were first established pretty far back at jaya and enies lobby (in robin’s flashback) respectively. meanwhile, im isn’t even seen until chapter nine hundred and something. it feels very late-game, but at the same time, their existence doesn’t contradict anything previously established, and in fact jives pretty well with a lot of information more recently revealed in dressrosa. 

in any case, when in doubt i do trust oda knows what he’s doing when handling his story, and i’m very excited to see what he does with this.

wano is SO PRETTY. i mentioned this before in fishman island, but i think wano is definitely the prettiest setting in the series to date. i think it’s obvious oda was both very excited to draw it and put a lot of work and research into his depiction of it, and wow does it pay off. wano is so bursting with life and detail, and frequently looks like an ukiyo-e painting come to life, and just- wow wow wow.

i love zoro and luffy’s reunion so much... i love how happy they are to see each other. it’s only been, what, a couple weeks in-universe? but luffy is pulling the full tackle-hug like he did for sabo at dressrosa. i love them.

i really like the outfits in wano, too!! zoro’s ronin look in particular i think suits him very well, and i also love luffy’s patchy yukata and robin’s geisha getup and they’re just very cool. this also applies to the non-strawhat wano characters, for the record, and kind of ties back to what i was just saying about wano being so full of detail. it has a very specific look, and everything from the outfits to the way things like the fire and the waves are drawn folds very neatly into that aesthetic. 

as i’m writing this i just finished on the paramount war posts, so with that fresh on my mind, i have to say i really like the way ace (or rather, his memory) is incorporated into wano. he’s not really a major presence- that is, the fact that he was there before luffy has no real bearing on the plot. but there are people who knew and cared about him and remember him fondly, tama and yamato, and it just really helps add to this feeling that ace was a person and his life and death had real and lasting affects. 

and it adds, too, to the fact that even if it took ace way too long to realize it, he was so thoroughly loved everywhere he went. 

i have a lot of thoughts on the intersection of food and heroism in one piece (i keep trying to compile a coherent meta post on the subject and mostly failing). but i’ll settle for saying that in wano luffy is a hero by his own definition, as someone who shares food with others, and i doubt he realizes that, but i think it’s really interesting. 

i know luffy’s fight with kaidou is kind of controversial in fandom but i love it, personally. it feels like a logical outcome for luffy to get his ass kicked the first time he tries to go up against a yonkou singlehandedly! he got wrecked when he tried to throw down with a shichibukai the first time, too, and this is just the next logical step from that. 

luffy’s always been an underdog starting from nowhere and working his way up and up and up, and i love that for him. of course he’s going to get messed up the first time he tries punching an entire order of magnitude above his weight class. and then he’s going to get up and try again, and again, and again until he wins. 

the act structure of wano is really neat, i think. it helps such a long and complicated arc feel a lot more structured and less interminable than it might otherwise, and it also gives specific breaks where we can cut away to the story happening on the outside world. 

honestly i really like the whole udon prison segment. it’s fun! i like it for similar reasons i like the colosseum mini-arc in dressrosa, honestly, which is that there’s no real stress because we know luffy is the scariest person there by a country mile so we can just watch him go ham, and that’s fun. it consistently cracks me up that absolutely nobody is worried luffy’s in jail. they’re all just like “yeah, he’ll be fine.” and they’re right! he’s having the time of his life!

wano’s cast is fascinating, because almost nobody is who they first appear to be. almost everyone is wearing masks, whether literal or not- fitting, for an arc structured after a kabuki play. everyone is playing roles, from hiyori to denjirou to kanjurou to yasuie, and everyone lies. 

this entire sequence at orochi’s party is one of my favorites in the whole arc- in fact, it was my favorite, until we reached a certain part i’ll get to in the next post. everything from komurasaki standing up for toko and slapping orochi to denjirou “killing” her to robin getting caught by the oniwabanshu and dissolving into petals to nami calling down a massive lightning bolt to cover their escape- it’s really good. 

i’ve written extensively before about the smile fruits and the themes of smile and laughter in one piece and how important the freedom to feel and express emotion is. suffice it to say that for all the atrocities orochi commits against the people of wano, it’s feeding the smile fruits to the people of ebisu town that is his greatest crime, and the revelation of just what happened to those poor people ratchets up the tragedy of wano tenfold.

i do think it’s interesting to think about how if denjirou had been just a little less committed to his role, zoro would’ve killed orochi right here. it really drives home that orochi is nothing- he’s weak, he’s cowardly, he’s just lucky and clever and cruel enough to be able to get much more powerful people to do his work for him. 

it’s infuriating that someone like him has been able to hold such power over the lives of the people of wano and ruin them so thoroughly, and that’s exactly the point. 

wano is the arc where oda says you Will care about the supernovas and i’m like yeah

hey, another of my all-time favorite luffy panels!! i honestly just think this one sums him up as a character in a line more than almost any other- “i’m always free.” 

just look at the detail on kidd’s metal hand holy shit holy shit. on occasion certain panels jump out at me that remind me that oda really is just, a genius at drawing on a technical level, even setting aside his writing and storytelling chops, and this is one of them. 

oda is really, really good at creating the sense of a darkest hour- a time when all hope seems lost. the other best example in the series is in water seven, when the crew seems to be falling to pieces, merry is marked for death, robin’s gone, and the aqua laguna is coming. here, too- nobody comes to meet the akazaya nine, and the one chance they’ve waited twenty years and staked their lives on seems in danger of slipping through their fingers-

but the point of making it so all seems lost is so that when hope does appear, it shines all the brighter, and feels all the more triumphant. it’s always darkest before the dawn, and we all know how wano has been waiting for the dawn.